Inside the vocational training centre of M S Chellamuthu Trust & Research Foundation in Madurai, of eight women and a man sit at tables working intently on white pieces of cloth. They tie small knots on the fabric with concentration and are a picture of patience. Mentally challenged, they are part of an innovative project designed to facilitate their rehabilitation.
“When we started teaching them to tie the Sungudi knots in September last year, their hands quivered and they could barely hold the cloth firmly to tie the threads,” says Hema Arun Amarnath, a key resource person from local NGO Tharagai. However, recently three of them were acknowledged as artisans as they received their first payment and also saw their end product, sungudi dupattas, go for sale.
A year ago, Nancy, Vimala and Soundarya wouldn’t have imagined that they would be able to do this. . It was the decision of the Trust’s Executive Director R Rajkumari to create a win-win opportunity where the patients could heal themselves while reviving a dying art.
"People with mental illness are mostly taught candle, agarbatti or papad making as vocational skills. But to involve them in a highly skilled work to keep the traditional craft of Madurai alive makes them special warriors of art," she says.
Nine people were identified for the project based on their clinical status, interest and functional capacity," points out K S P Janardhan Babu, Director (Projects). The achievement is big not only for them but also their trainers, mentors and caretakers, he adds.
"For these artisans, art is now central to their being, feeling and thinking," says Sridevi Suresh, instrumental in associating her team of friends and like-minded individuals in this journey to save a dying art.
"We were sceptical when we accepted the proposal because we were not sure if the group will be able to sustain the interest in the time consuming exercise of tying knots," she says.
"But they surprise us," says another volunteer Sumathi Rajan, "by giving us a product that qualifies for sale through Crafts Council of India (CCI). "Sungudi has lent itself well as a therapy for their minds," adds Babu.
The vocational training centre at Shenoy Nagar is a place without stigma where Anitha, Rajeshwari, Somasundaram, Gayathri, Ramya and Nandhini come from the different rehab centres of the Trust and share camaraderie for three hours every day. "I complete 11 rows everyday and each row has 25 knots," says Rajeshwari, who came for treatment of schizophrenia four years ago. "I am under medication now," she says. “Tying the knots calm me."
Says Somasundaram, "I belong to a family of tailors and doing Sungudi knots makes me happy.” Nancy says with pride she completes 72 knots in 30 minutes and has mastered the technique. That is why after a strict quality check, her piece was cleared for sales.
Once the handcrafted piece is approved for the market, the women are paid 10 paise per knot. Every blouse piece contains 800 to 1,000 knots and a sari has minimum 5,000 knots.
In the initial weeks of learning, Tharagai provided them small handkerchief cloths to practice on. Later they moved to one metre blouse pieces. Those who improved their knot tying skill are working on saris now. There is nothing time bound and no pressure on them. "This is a socially engaging experience for us as we get a deeper understanding of mental health and they are able to reshape their lives," says Sridevi.
The Tharagai volunteers visit the centre every fortnight now to take stock of the progress made by the group. In the initial days they came daily with a trainer from Gandhigram and once the members got the basics right, they practised daily under the supervision of the centre head Bhavana. Each piece they work on is tagged with their details such as starting date and the number of knots tied and a meticulous record is maintained to assess their progress.
The next time you go to Kamala - The Craft Shop run by Crafts Council of India in Egmore, check out the authentic Sungudi fabrics and saris. This small group has fought many battles to reach there. .
How it works:
Matters of the Mind : Those who improved their knot tying skill are working on saris now at the vocational training centre of M.S. Chellamuthu Trust
Crafts Council of India-Chennai mentors Tharagai to train different clusters of people interested in learning the dying art of Sungundi.
So far 50 people received training and 10 continue to practice and teach further. They are based in Gandhigram where an organic dying unit has also been established.
Every Sungudi sari Tharagai commissions is ethically produced. The Gandhigram cluster makes a dozen to 15 saris every month.
Tharagai provides the pure cotton fabric, thread and design to the different groups helping to keep Sungudi alive
Once the knots are made, they are organically dyed in Gandhigram and sent to CCI Chennai for approval.
The ones that qualify the standard are sold through the CCI store in Chennai.
The authentic handmade Sungudi items made by different groups include saris, dupattas, stoles, scarves, jackets, file folders and bags.
Available only at Kamala Crafts Shop, 12 A-C Co-optex Grounds, 350 Pantheon Road
Egmore Chennai 600 008 . Tel: 044 2819 1457.
“There is so much positive emotion when you see rehabilitated people rehabilitating a dying art. We pick up our energy from them" -- Hema Arun Amarnath
Hema Arun Amarnath, Tharagai volunteerMadurai, Tamil Nadu, 17/10/2018: For Metroplus: Hema Arun, a volunteer from Tharagai, in Madurai. Photo: R. Ashok
"The sense of accomplishment is high because you see the mentally challenged people totally immersed in a creative work that others find so painstaking to do -- Sumathi Rajan
Sumathi Rajan, Tharagai volunteer
"There is a source of pride in being able to sell their products that matches excellence and economically empowers them" -- Sridevi Suresh
Sridevi Suresh, Tharagai volunteer
"The developmentally disabled have shown how patience and perseverance can get you through anything and given a blueprint that can define a future for many more such special people" -- R Rajkumari.
R.Rajkumari, Executive Director, M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation
